News Releases
Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 17, 1997
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke signs bill clarifying authority to check warrants

OLYMPIA - Gov. Gary Locke today thanked legislators for responding to his call for quick adoption of a measure that clears away all doubts about the circumstances under which law enforcement officers are authorized to check for outstanding warrants in the course of a traffic stop for a civil infraction. Locke signed the measure today shortly after it arrived in his office.

An Aug. 28 ruling by the state Supreme Court cast a cloud over the long-standing law enforcement practice of checking for outstanding warrants in the course of a traffic stop for a civil infraction such as speeding. Timothy McVeigh, the notorious Oklahoma City bomber, was apprehended in this manner. A North Carolina officer who did not check for outstanding warrants was killed by someone stopped for a traffic infraction; had the officer checked, he would have learned the person he was about to approach was wanted for the execution-style slaying of another law enforcement officer.

The court ruling in the Rife case involved a man stopped in Seattle for jaywalking. The law enforcement officers checked to verify his identification and also checked for outstanding warrants. Locke issued a proclamation on Sept. 8 calling the Legislature into special session for the sole purpose of providing precise and explicit authority for law enforcement officers to do the warrant checks during all traffic stops for civil infractions.

Locke said the safety of the public and law enforcement officers made action on this important measure urgent. "The public expects and demands that fundamental law enforcement tools be used to take dangerous people off the streets of our neighborhoods and communities," Locke said. "Warrant checks are necessary to ensure officers aren't letting someone who is wanted for serious crimes go free after getting a speeding ticket."

Since the ruling, Locke's staff has worked with legislative leaders, police, prosecutors, the Washington State Patrol and the attorney general's office to reach agreement on the specific language of the measure signed into law today.

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